The present disclosure relates to a device for folding in a camera on a motor vehicle, in particular a folding-in device for a mirror replacement system of a motor vehicle. The present disclosure further relates to a motor vehicle having a device for folding in a camera.
The rear view mirror systems which are used to cover indirect fields of vision are being increasingly replaced by camera/display systems. The cameras required have to be arranged with a specific lateral spacing and/or in front of the vehicle in order to be able to cover the required viewing zones. There are thereby produced camera arms which can reach a considerable dimension.
As a result of the required exposed position, the fields of vision from the point of view of the driver which are often not present and the risk of damage which is present as a result of contact with other objects, the camera arms are intended to advantageously be provided with a folding-in mechanism. The folding-in mechanism enables the camera arm to be folded in when striking an obstacle.
DE 10 2012 015 385 B3 discloses, for example, a folding-in mechanism. A camera arm for a mirror replacement system of a motor vehicle contains a first housing element and a second housing element. The first housing element receives an image recording unit. The second housing element is adapted to be connected in a positionally fixed manner to the bodywork of the motor vehicle. A pivot mechanism is provided between the first housing element and the second housing element so that the first housing element can be pivoted relative to the second housing element about a pivot axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,200 A discloses a camera unit which can be fitted laterally to a utility vehicle. The camera unit can be retracted by means of a retraction and deployment mechanism in a translational manner into a recess in the housing or deployed therefrom. Furthermore, the camera arrangement may have two pivot mechanisms for pivoting the camera during operation. The camera can thus be pivoted during operation about a horizontal axis and about a vertical axis. However, the device is not suitable for folding in. The device cannot change the extension arm length, that is to say, the spacing with respect to the vehicle, so that the housing components cannot be folded relative to each other.
Folding-in devices require geometric limitations on the components which can be pivoted relative to each other, that is to say, the camera arm and the camera base. This results in component geometries which have to take into account specific pivoting freedoms, thereby have aerodynamically unfavourable influences and with regard to the design are subjected to limiting constraints.